Starring Grizzy and Sophie

I just got back from a half-hour walk. Holy smokes. I love walking, and I don’t mind the snow (I actually enjoy it most of the time), but the wind! It cut right through my normally quite warm fleece-lined gloves. I wish I would have picked up a pair of those recycled-from-wool-sweaters mittens I’d seen at a craft fair in November. Next year.

Thankfully, I know in this cold weather Gigi has a place she can tuck into. Late last year I built her a shelter, using a big Rubbermaid bin, a styrofoam cooler and some straw. It’s the shelter equivalent of a turducken. 🙂 I lined the styrofoam cooler with some light-colored fleece.* I figured this would be extra cozy for her, and given that she’s black, it would make it easy for me to see if she’d been in there. And she has! I don’t have a picture of that yet, but I will get one soon.

Tonight, though, I have pictures of the shelter in progress.

Inspecting.

You think I’m gonna go in there?!

Well, I’ll just test it out…

I realized after I cut that I made the hole a little too low to the ground, so I taped a piece back on. This gives a little more shelter from the wind and cold, but still allows the kitties to get inside easily (as tested by Grizzy).

I haven’t heard Gigi for a few days, but I *did* hear her after the polar vortex had passed, so whew. I don’t think I was ever so glad to hear 4:30 am caterwauling! I’m sure she’s got a good, warm spot on cold nights like tonight. And, of course, she’s always got a spot here.

In other news, can you believe January is nearing an end? I had a goal to get my house fully organized by January 31: closets, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, a place for everything and everything in its place. So far, so good, although I have a bit more to do. Life without school is still a bit odd, but at the same time, now I’m wondering how I did it! I mean, the two adorable black kitties that live with me require a lot of pampering…lol.

Have a great week!
SG&S

*I originally had some old Halloween fleece, but then I decided lighter would probably be better (for me to see).

Every day I wake up and I think how lucky I am to have my two kitties. They always make me smile and laugh.

Sophie is especially silly sometimes. I had to snap this pic because I’ve not seen a cat lay like that! Of course, she’s a busy little thing, so I’m sure she was there for all of five seconds before she was up and zipping to her next matter of business.

In other news, Gigi was back last night and again about an hour ago. I called a few humane societies about her (i.e., could I rent a trap and bring her in to get scanned or spayed?). They were all polite, and some very nice, but all were very honest, meaning Gigi’s options are pretty limited and not necessarily happy endings.

Right now (that is, since I spoke with the last shelter rep) I’m taking the advice of one and trying to get a better look at her to see if she’s pregnant or not. I was going to get a trap just in case, but I didn’t see or hear her for about a week. Now she’s back again, so I’ll likely call tomorrow and see if I can get a trap. I was also thinking of putting out a little shelter for her? I wish I could just scoop her up and bring her inside but I know that, no matter how sweet Gigi is, that would NOT be a safe or smart option. (Not to mention, she scurries away when I get too close to the window, so I highly doubt I could actually pick her up.)

I’m worried for her tonight because I heard her and I assume another cat (?) fighting a few minutes ago. 😦 Sophie ran and hid while Grizzy puffed up his tail and went to the window. It was a pretty loud fight.

I so wish more people were responsible pet owners! I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but argh. I wish people would spay or neuter their pets – and take care of them, as they committed to do so when they first adopted the animals. Pets are living, sentient beings, not things you just dispose of when you tire of them. Why do so many people not seem to grasp this? Argh. Again, I know I’m preaching to the choir.